Top spray dishwasher



June 6, 1961 R. M. SASNETT TOP SPRAY DISHWASHER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 18, 1959 lllIIIlIlIl INVENTOR.

RUSSELL Mv SASNETT BY WK Z l-HS ATTORNEY June 6, 1961 R. M. SASNETT 2,987,250

TOP SPRAY DISHWASHER Filed Nov. 18, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 as 36 a1 INVENTOR.

RUSSELL M. SASNETT H IS ATTORNEY United States Patent 2,987,260 TOP SPRAY DISHWASHER Russell M. Sasnett, Louisville, Ky., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Filed Nov. 18, 1959, Ser. No. 853,894 4 Claims. (Cl. 239-231) The present invention relates to a rotatable spray nozzle and particularly a top spray device for an automatic dishwasher for showering the dishes on the top rack with a large volume of water at medium velocity.

The standard dishwasher has either a rotary impeller or a rotating spray arm positioned in the bottom of a tub for spraying streams of water upwardly through two dish-supporting racks. All dishes and silverware are set to stand upright on their edges while containers such as glasses, cups and pans are inverted so that the upwardly directed streams of water will clean the interior thereof. Occasionally loose soil will be flung to the top of the tub and will be redeposited on the uppermost surfaces of the articles supported in the top rack.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a non-clogging rotating spray nozzle in the vicinity of the top of an automatic dishwasher for spreading the stream of water into a wide angle, vertical sheet of water that will cover the entire area of the top rack with a maximum incidence force during each complete revolution of the nozzle.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a single non-clogging rotating spray arm that is pivotally supported at one end and is designed at its discharge end to utilize the energy of the water to propel the nozzle with a spinning action, while at the same time deflecting the stream of the water from a jet pattern into a wide angle sheet of water that is nearly vertically disposed within a dishwasher and lies outside the circle of rotation of the nozzle for showering down upon the articles supported in the top rack.

The preferred embodiment of the present invention is concerned with a rotating spray nozzle that is designed for mounting on the underside of the top wall of an automatic dishwasher. The nozzle has a vertically disposed hollow hearing at one end attached to the top wall so that the nozzle may spin in a horizontal plane about the hearing. The bearing is hollow for receiving the wash water therethrough, and the bearing is connected on one side to a feed line while on the opposite side it is joined with a conduit that extends through the nozzle. This conduit is of generally L-shape in plan view. The free end of the nozzle supports an angularly disposed deflector that extends vertically across the discharge stream of the conduit so that the stream of water pouring from the conduit will be transformed into a wide angle sheet of water of high volume and medium velocity lying outside the circle of rotation of the nozzle for dislodging the loose soil that has been redeposited on the uppermost surface of the articles supported in the top rack.

My invention will be better understood from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and its scope will be pointed out in the appended claims.

FIGURE 1 is .a side elevational view partly in crosssection showing a portable automatic dishwasher embodying a top spray nozzle according to the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a bottom plan view of a rotating spray nozzle with part of the structure broken away to show the shape of the conduit that extends through the nozzle;

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional elevational View taken on the lines 33 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a partial top plan view taken along the lines 4-4 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a side view taken on the lines 5-5 of FIGURE 4 showing the configuration of the deflector that is positioned in the path of flow of the water being discharged from the conduit of the nozzle.

Referring in detail to the drawings and in particular to FIGURE 1, 10 is a portable automatic dishwasher that comprises a tub 11, a front cabinet structure 12 and casters 13 on which the structure is supported for ease in moving the dishwasher from one place to another. The tub 11 has a concave bottom wall #14, four side walls 15 and an opening at the top which is closed by the hinged top cover 16. This cover is hinged at the back of the machine on hinge members 17 and a suitable latch mechanism 18 is provided at the front edge of the cover for locking the cover in a closed position during the operation of the machine.

An electric motor 19 cooperates with a two-way pump 20 which is in turn suspended from a drain opening 21 in the bottom wall of the tub 11. The shaft of the motor 19 extends upwardly through the bottom wall of the tub and carries on its upper end a Wash impeller 22 having two or more blades. Hence, in one direction of rotation of the motor, water located in the sump at the bottom of the tub will be propelled upwardly in an inverted cone shaped spray to wash the food soil that has become lodged on the articles to be washed. Such articles will be stacked on a lower dish rack 23 and an upper dish rack 24 which are both of welded wire construction.

The spray from the wash impeller 22 will remove the soil on the dishes, silverware and pans and this soil will fall into the sump to be continuously recirculated by the impeller. There are occasions when this loose soil will be found redeposited on the top surfaces of the glasses and pans after the operating cycle has been completed. This is discouraging to the housewife because it is the first thing she notices when the dishwasher is opened, and she begins to worry that perhaps the working or food engaging surfaces of the dishes, glasses, cups and pans are also partially covered with soil.

The present invention is concerned with a rotatable spray nozzle 25 that is supported on the top wall of the dishwasher chamber for showering water down onto the articles supported in the top rack. In the case of a portable dishwasher the nozzle 25 is supported on the cover 16, while in an undercounter dishwasher the nozzle is supported from a removable cover that is not carried by the tub but instead is hung from under the counter. The nozzle 25 is supplied with water from the two-way pump 20 by means of a flexible hose 26 that extends toward the front of the machine and up through the space between the side wall 15 of the tub and the cabinet structure 12. At the top of the tub the hose 26 is fitted onto a nipple that extends through the wall '15. This nipple is part of a disconnect pipe 27 that is located within the tub and has a wide mouth fitting 28 at its top end for connection with a bell seal 29 that underlies the inner surface of the cover 16 and is movable therewith. Extending from this sealing member 29 is a small length of hose 30 that it attached to a feed line 31 of the spray nozzle 25.

A better understanding of the spray nozzle 25 may be had by referring to the cross-sectional view of FIGURE 3. The spray nozzle 25 is a subassembly that is formed of a series of molded plastic parts with several metal mounting plates. The feed line 31 represents one molded part while the nozzle structure is formed by a pair of mating parts of molded construction 32 and 33. Attention is drawn to the hollow bearing 34 which is an outside bearing on which the nozzle structure is pivotally supported from the top wall or cover 16 of the dishwasher. First, there is a stainless steel bushing 35 over which is assembled a bottom bearing member 36 that has low frictional characteristics such as a Teflon material. This Teflon bearing member has an upwardly extending collar 37. Next, an annular metal plate 38 is assembled over the Teflon bearing 36. This plate is riveted to the upper molded part 32 by means of fasteners '39 while the two molded parts '32 and 33 of the nozzle are fastened together by fasteners 40. A top bearing member or Teflon washer 41 is placed over the metal plate 38, and finally a larger trnetal mounting plate 42 is placed over the top bearing 41 and staked to the bushing 35. This mounting plate 42 is of circular shape as is the lower portion of the feed tube 31 so that a rubber-like ring 43 may be confined between the mounting plate and the circular portion of the feed tube 31. The sealing ring 43 is provided with a circumferential groove for mating engagement with the inner edge of the opening in the cover plate so that a moisture-tight seal takes place at the rubber ring and the fastening screws 44 that join the mounting plate with the feed tube structure need not be sealed. Thus it will be seen that the spray nozzle 25 is freely supported on the outside of the bearing member 34 so that there are no restrictions to the flow through the feed tube 31 and the bearing 34 which might block the free flow of water laden with food soil that is being recirculated through the system.

As is best seen in FIGURES 2 and 3 the spray nozzle 25 is provided with an internal conduit 50 which communicates with the bore of the hollow bearing member 34 and extends longitudinally of the nozzle. The nozzle is of generally L-shape so that the end portion of the conduit 50 that is opposite the bearing end extends in the same horizontal plane as the conduit proper, but is sub stantially at a right angle thereto. The free end of the nozzle is the discharge end at 52. The free end of the nozzle carries an angularly disposed deflector 53 that is positioned in the stream of the water discharging from the conduit 50. This deflecting surface extends vertically with respect to the longitudinal axis of the discharge end of the conduit 50 and at an angle of approximately 40; although this angle may be varied between approximately 30 and 60 with comparable results. The purpose of the right angle bend in the conduit 50 is to provide a reaction force on the nozzle to create the driving torque. This will produce a fast rotation of the nozzle. The deflector is so placed that it reduces the speed of the nozzle to a value between 30 and 100 r.p.m.; depending on the angle of the deflector. The preferred speed of rotation of the nozzle is approximately 60 rpm. The purpose of the deflector 53 is to change the pattern of the stream of water from a jet stream to a wide angle sheet of water that lies substantially in the plane of the deflecting surface 53 and extends outwardly of the circle of rotation of the nozzle. This is to be accomplished without forming any restrictions to the flow of water which might cause the clogging of food particles being carried in the water. Hence the deflector 53 is spaced from the discharge end 52 of the conduit a suflicient amount to prevent clogging. Since most of the washing action should be performed on the articles in the top rack an upper shelf 54 partially overlies the discharge end 52 of the conduit so that the principal flow will be downwardly into the dishwasher and only a small proportion of the water will sweep the top wall thereof as is best illustrated in FIGURE 1.

Modifications of this invention will occur to those skilled in this art and it is to be understood, therefore, that this invention is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed but that it is intended to cover ular embodiments disclosed bu that it is intended to cover all modifications which are within the true spirit and scope of this invention as claimed.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A rotating spray nozzle for an automatic dishwasher comprising a feed line, a low friction bearing for connecting the spray nozzle to the feed line so that the nozzle may spin freely about the pivotal axis of the bearing, the nozzle having a conduit at substantially a right angle with respect to the pivotal axis of the bearing, the end portion of the conduit opposite the bearing end lying in substantially the same plane as the plane of movement of the conduit but extending at substantially a right angle to the conduit so that water flowing through the conduit from the feed line will provide the necessary reaction force for spinning the nozzle, an angularly disposed deflecting surface positioned just outside the discharge end of the conduit but in the path thereof for spreading a stream of water into a wide angle sheet of water lying outside the circle of rotation of the nozzle, said deflecting surface being spaced away from said discharge end of the conduit so that the water flow through the conduit is substantially unrestricted to prevent clogging of the conduit by waste material to be carried by the water.

2. A rotating spray nozzle adapted for mounting at the top of an automatic dishwasher to wash the soil from articles that are stacked on a top rack, a feed line having a bearing for pivotally supporting the nozzle from the feed line for rotation about a vertical axis, the nozzle having a conduit communicating with the feed line and extending horizontally therefrom, the end portion of the conduit that is opposite the bearing being formed horizontally at substantially a right angle to the main portion of the conduit, the conduit having a discharge opening that is partially covered by an angularly disposed deflector that lies in a substantially vertical plane at an angle between 30 and 60 with respect to the longitudinal axis of the discharge portion of the conduit, whereby a stream of water flowing through the conduit is sprayed into a wide angle sheet of Water lying outside the circle of rotation of the nozzle, said deflector being spaced away from the discharge opening so that the water flow through the conduit is substantially unrestricted to prevent clogging of the conduit by waste material to be carried by the Water.

3. A rotating spray nozzle as recited in claim 2 wherein the bearing for pivotally supporting the nozzle from the feed line is an outside bearing to prevent the deposition of soil on the moving parts, the passageways through the bearing and conduit being free of restrictions so that food soil being removed from the dishes and recirculated through the spray nozzle will not accumulate within the nozzle and block the free flow of water.

4. A rotating spray nozzle adapted for mounting on the underside of the top wall of an automatic dishwasher, the nozzle having a vertically disposed hollow bearing at one end attached to the said top wall so that the nozzle may spin in a horizontal plane about the bearing, the nozzle being generally L-shaped in plan view and having a conduit extending longitudinally thereof, the free end of the nozzle carrying an angularly disposed deflector that extends vertically across the flow discharge of the conduit at nearly a 45 angle, whereby a stream of water flowing through the conduit is sprayed into a wide angle sheet of water lying outside the circle of rotation of the nozzle, and a shelf partially overhanging the discharge end of the conduit so that the principal flow will be directed downwardly into the dishwasher and only a small proportion will sweep the top wall thereof, said angularly disposed deflector being spaced away from the flow discharge end of the conduit a suflicient amount that the water flow through the conduit is substantially unrestricted to prevent clogging of the conduit by waste material to be carried by the water.

{References on following page) References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Struhs Dec. 13, 1898 Sanders Feb. 16, 1909 Marsh et a1. Apr. 18, 1916 Mowry Dec. 17, 1918 Elder June 7, 1932 6 Marsh Nov. 26, 1935 Reiger July 17, 1951 Willborn July 1, 1952. Crow Dec. 22, 1959 Davis Jan. 19, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS Australia Sept. 3, 1931 

